NSS 12 was manufactured by Space Systems/Loral and has a 15-year design life the 12,400-pound (5,625-kg). The satellite carries 48 Ku-band and 40 C-band transponders. It will be parked in geostationary orbit over the equator at 57 degrees East longitude to take the place of the aging NSS 703 satellite, which was launched aboard an Atlas 2AS rocket from Cape Canaveral in 1994.